


Legend

by Aki_Saiko (saikowrites)



Series: Writober 2019 [15]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Inktober 2019, Mermaid!Nozomi, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Pirate ad Mermaid AU, Pirate!Eli, Pirates, Shipwrecks, Storm - Freeform, Writober 2019, legend, nozoeli - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 06:09:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saikowrites/pseuds/Aki_Saiko
Summary: Eli Ayase departs from homeland and a storm causes her ship to sink. Water swallows her, but some legendary creature rescues her and watches over her by the sea.WRITOBER 2019 | Day 15: Legend | Based on the official Inktober 2019 prompt list.





	Legend

**Author's Note:**

> It's like 1.45am here and I should be asleep but writober never sleeps so guess who's gonna be tired all day tomorrow due to fandom's most loved lesbians?  
But honestly, I've wanted to write about this AU since the pirate set has first been released on jp, so well. What is it some 10am-8pm day at university against NozoEli.

Her hand stretched, her fingers lingered on wooden surface, clenched to grab it but it slipped away from them, the current too strong to fight against it. Eli struggled to keep her head above the water, forced herself to breathe and swallow down panic and desperation. She swam towards the shattered piece of wood, flat and floating and her only slight hope to reach the coast. Her body was heavy, stiffened by cold water and worn out by constant fight against stormy waves; the roaring of the floods and the remaining fatigue of the long sailing numbed her mind and clouded her vision. Far, far away towards the horizon, the coastline, blurred by the tempest but still signaled by the little glimpse of a lighthouse.

She leaned her weight on the fragment and inhaled, filled her lungs with air. A sting of pain cut through her leg and blocked it, caused Eli’s grip on the surface to loosen. She shut her eyes and screamed until her throat ached; she flailed and gained some more space. Her gaze darted around searching for a rope, but only found broken pieces of the ship that were too heavy to keep her alive.

A wave crashed against her and Eli lost what remained of her support. Her arms moved to swim, but her head was knocked down by the water. Eyes burned against saltwater and lungs screamed, begged for some air. A knot grasped in her throat, impossible to be swallowed as more and more water dragged her down, away from the surface, from oxygen, from the only little hope she’d had to see land again.

Eli closed her eyes, her mouth not capable of remaining sealed anymore. Water filled her and spread cold inside her body.

***

Warmth caressed her cheek and light filtered through her eyelids. Eli cracked them open and noon sunshine blinded her; she instinctively placed a hand in front of her face to shield it from the burning rays.

She took a sharp breath but coughed, choking on her own saliva. She sit up and watery eyes wandered around her. There was a small bay, almost closed as a full circle, and rocky ground flattened in some dark-sanded beach. A recess in the coastline she had so desperately tried to reach, bordered by a forest of shrubs and small trees. The water, now calm, sparkled under the sun, so clear it revealed at first sight the bottom of the sea, which got deep not so further from the seaside.

Eli touched her arms, stomach, legs. The right one was still rigid from the cramp and made some resistance at her first movements. She run a head through sticky blonde hair: she was still alive. But she didn’t know where she was, couldn’t figure out how further – north? South? – from the port that place was. The sun was high and burned her skin, and the beach was dotted with stones and some rocks: if she had to guess, Eli would say she ended up quite far southern from her intended destination.

She weighed on the good leg and stood up. She needed to explore the hinterland, find some clean fresh water, climb up onto some elevated spot to see if she could at least roughly locate her position and trace a path back to civilization. She took a step with the good lad, another one with the bad one. She was forced to limp a little to avoid pain, she could walk, but climbing might have been too much for her aching body.

Sanded clothes scraped against her skin, making it itch. Eli’s gaze moved from one side of the beach to the other and towards the forest behind her. Searching for water wasn’t any good of idea, the sun was too bright and hot. She sighed and untied the laces that had secured her booths so well, she tossed them aside. She removed the bustier and the outer layers of her gown, chose to wear only the blouse and the thin long skirt to shade her body from sunlight in the best possible way.

She advanced in the sea, her body shivered from the contact with water, but her leg ached much less as the weight on it was lifted by the fluid. Eli cupped her hands and washed her face: it would get dry and itching, but water softened the heat irradiating from the sky.

A jolt appeared and disappeared in her eyesight. Eli tilted up her head but couldn’t see anything beside some bubbles gurgle a bit further in the sea, in a point with bottom too deep for her to reach on foot. She focused and waited. Another movement, she seized the leap of a wide, violet fin. She retreated on the beach, ready to swallow the pain and run in the forest if needed.

But a face emerged from the sea, some young girl with long, purple hair with shells and chipped gems intertwined in it. Her eyes were big and of a bright aquamarine tone, glowing with curiosity. Eli opened her mouth to greet her and ask her basic questions – where she was, how she could get away. She stopped, froze. The girl drew closer to the seaside and a fin and a long fish tail emerged as well, iridescent under noon sun, of various shades between purple and light blue. Eli’s hand run to her face.

“_Harasho…_”

The girl – the _mermaid_’s face lit up as a down rising from the horizon. “You’re awake!”

Eli frowned. “You can understand me? Do you speak the common language?”

“Of course, I do. I can speak every one of your languages, in fact.” She chuckled. “Are you from the North? I can tell it by the accent.”

Eli blinked and fought back a laugh. “I am. Are you… a mermaid? A real one?” Stupid question, but the awe was too much to bear. The girl guffawed. “I suppose you can call me that way, yes. Are you all right? I almost arrived too late to save you. I’m glad I made it in time.”

Eli’s eyes widened and she realized. “You saved my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

“Saving you was the easy part. The difficult one has been carrying you to this shore, since you couldn’t swim. So, come here! Let me check if you are ok.” She waved a hand and smiled.

Eli’s body trembled, but she forced herself to walk. The girl didn’t seem dangerous or malevolent, she was rather kind. She swam even closer as Eli proceeded so that they were of the same height; Eli could see her better now. Her features were gracious, resembled the one of a peer, but Eli wasn’t sure if a mermaid could be described as ‘young’. Her ears and neck were adorned with gems and shells as well as her hair, her chest was covered with some lucid, dark purple material that almost melt with her skins near the cleavage. She was, in a human way, beautiful, but with the powerful aura of a legendary creature.

The other took Eli’s hands in her owns, drew fingertips on her arms and lingered her tail on Eli’s legs. She nodded in satisfaction and looked her in the eyes. “I can’t see any sign of harm besides your leg, but it will recover within some day of rest, I can sense it. I’m happy I’ve managed to save you. May I know your name?”

“Ayase Elichika. But you can call me Eli. May I now your name, too?”

“Nozomi.” She widened her smile and her tail squeezed around Eli’s legs just a little more. “Has anybody ever told you that you’re beautiful? Because I find you really pretty for a human girl.”

Eli startled and her mouth shut open.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: this fic now has a sequel! You can find it [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21151208)
> 
> I'm officially half-way through this writober OH MY GOD???
> 
> Previous work in the collection: Persona 5 - onesided ShuHaru - Overgrown  
Next one in the collection will be: Madoka Magica


End file.
